Ralph reflects on the eight year battle as a ‘relentless journey' as he sought to generate more revenue to safeguard his farm's future and reinvest in the core farming operations.
"We were granted permission with prior approval relatively easily for the first residential conversion in 2017 after providing detailed architectural plans and meeting all other criteria.
"We adopted a similar approach for the second barn conversion, but this time we were denied permitted development rights, despite approaching the process in a similar manner.
"The development was rejected because it was deemed to pose a flood risk. The Environment Agency supplied the council with an imprecise map showing the barn five metres lower than the initial approved barn.
"Despite our evidence indicating the adjacent flood plain was several metres lower than all the barns, the negotiations reached an impasse."
Learn more:
To learn more about tenant farmer Ralph Raynor's successful barn conversion, key learnings from his planning application and advice for others thinking about doing the same, visit the FOCUS Guide.
This post is funded by CLA.
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